


Into The Woods, Dark And Deep

by MagnusTesla



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Body Horror, But It's Not Super Gory, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Eldritch Iruka, Eldritch Monsters, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Horror, Kakashi Has No Self Preservation Instincts, Kakashi Week 2020, M/M, Mild Gore, Shapeshifting, Transformation, Void Iruka, Void Werewolf, Werewolf Iruka, Werewolves, with fanart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:16:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26498509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnusTesla/pseuds/MagnusTesla
Summary: Kakashi has been going out of his mind with worry, fearing the worst when Iruka constantly makes excuses to cancel plans, and when Kakashi decides to follow him one evening, he finds more than he bargained for.The sound came again, and it was like nothing Kakashi had ever heard before: a cry that sounded almost human, high pitches of agony twisted with something much darker, something primal.Written for Kakashi Week 2020 - Day 4 - FeralIncludes fanart by home-field12
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 41
Kudos: 118
Collections: Kakashi Week 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TW: body horror & gore
> 
> Please mind the tags. Whilst this certainly isn't at the higher end of gore and body horror, this fic does contain those things.

Kakashi wasn’t entirely sure what he had expected to find when he decided to follow Iruka that evening. After an hour of driving, his stomach had dropped when the path led him to an old run down cabin in the middle of the woods, way out into the wilderness of the Konoha countryside. He’d known Iruka was hiding something from him; of course, when Iruka had started making excuses regularly as to why he couldn’t see Kakashi, the first thought that popped into his mind was one he didn’t even want to consider— an affair. 

Slowing his car to a crawl, Kakashi quietly drove a little further up the dirt track before turning the engine off, scrubbing his hands down his face and feeling tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Kakashi wasn’t a crier, more prone to bottling things up and shutting down, but even he could not shove down the swell of emotions fighting their way to the surface, threatening to spill over at any given moment. 

He wasn’t sure how long he sat in the car, nausea angrily swirling around in his stomach before the sound of splintering wood and an inhuman cry jolted him out of his thoughts. They echoed loud in the still of the night, eerily so, and it was then that Kakashi realised there were no other signs of life to be heard: no screeching of owls or death throes of rodents unlucky enough to be caught in the hunt, no chirring of insects or sounds of small animals scurrying through the brush. Everything was utterly silent and still, as though all the wild animals were holding their breath, hoping to melt into the shadows and become unseen.

The sound came again, and it was like nothing Kakashi had ever heard before: a cry that sounded almost human, high pitches of agony twisted with something much darker, something primal. It made all of his hairs stand on end and alarm bells in his mind start ringing, warning him, _screaming_ at him to start up the car’s engine and get the hell out of there. Of course the need to know what Iruka was up to trumped all of his common sense; and with shaky legs, Kakashi stepped out of the car, pocketing his pen knife from the glove box and headed towards the cabin.

Underneath his boots the ground was slippery, the mud almost bog-like after days of torrential downpour. It wasn’t raining tonight, though with the cold, the dampness still clung to the air in a light fog. Kakashi pulled the hood of his coat up over his head and slowly made his way toward the cabin, his breathing coming in short, panicked pants, the moisture from his exhales clinging uncomfortably to his black cotton face mask.

The forest was completely still around him, only the squelching of the ground under Kakashi’s feet and the roar of rushing blood audible in his ears. He stepped up onto the cabin porch; and when the wooden floorboards groaned beneath his weight, something let out a growl— one so low that Kakashi could feel it vibrate through his body like thumping bass from a speaker.

Kakashi pulled the penknife from his pocket, the handle tight in his grip as he reached for the door that was slightly ajar, pushing it so it swung open fully as he shakily whispered “Iruka, are you—”

The rest of the words died in his throat as the darkness inside the cabin _moved,_ moved like it was _alive,_ and then coalesced into a large black wolf, its eyes golden and shining with an almost human-like intelligence. Its fur bristled and moved like it was made from wisps of smoke, incorporeal in its being, and yet also solid.

Tremors ran through Kakashi’s body and he stumbled backwards, brandishing the knife that, in that moment, might as well have been a stick for how threatening it was in comparison to the beast snarling at him, its fanged jaws becoming impossibly wide.

He didn't even see the wolf move before his vision was filled with fur and fangs, the impact of his skull and back hitting the ground making his head spin and knocking the breath from his lungs. Bones splintered in his wrist, his blood painting the beast's jaws as it tore the limb apart. He thrashed and kicked as he tried to break away, but none of the hits landed, instead seeming to phase straight through as though the monster was made of nothing more than mist. Someone was screaming, and as the sound echoed from the rafters, he realised it was coming from him.

Bile rose up in Kakashi’s throat, choking him through his screams. His heart stuttered in his chest in an unsteady rhythm, beating out of time as his life drained away, as tears streamed down his cheeks and dark spots started to fill his vision.

His blood pulsed out of torn arteries in gushing rivers; it spread across the wooden floorboards, the smell of iron so strong in the air that Kakashi could practically taste it. He was going to die here, bleeding out in the middle of nowhere, alone, with something that only his worst nightmares could ever conjure up for company. 

Dark spots started to fill his vision, and a bone deep tiredness settled over him like a heavy blanket, calling out to him, pulling him under. With his last pained gasp, Kakashi cried out, “Iruka,” before letting darkness sweep him away.

****

Kakashi came back to consciousness with heat simmering in his veins, a fever so high that his whole body shook with violent chills. He was so delirious that it took a moment for him to realise that he was still alive, laying atop a worn mattress in the corner of a cabin lit only by dim candlelight. 

Memories suddenly hit him like a freight train, flashing behind his eyes all at once, and he panicked, letting out a cry as he jolted upright. His body burned, a sharp, lancing pain zipping through every single cell, right down to his marrow. Something wasn’t right; his body felt wrong, like there was something shifting beneath his skin, waiting, biding its time before bursting free.

“Shh it’s okay, you’re okay, you’re safe.” 

A figure emerged from the shadows, their arms held up in a non-threatening gesture like they were approaching a wild animal. The flickering light caught their face, and Kakashi recognised them immediately, his emotions finally spilling over into heaving great sobs. 

“Hey It’s me, I’m here,” Iruka said, crouching down on the floor besides the mattress, sweeping Kakashi’s hair back from his damp forehead. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I didn’t think you’d follow me here.” 

“We have to go. There’s something out there. _Please,_ Iruka.” Desperation bled into Kakashi’s voice as panic started rising up. He’d almost forgotten about his hand until he reached for Iruka and saw that it was wrapped in a blood stained cloth. Before he knew it, he was frantically unwrapping the cloth to look underneath, fully expecting to see strips of torn skin and tendon hanging from bone, but when his hand was finally revealed to the light, there was nothing to be seen save for flecks of dried blood and obvious broken fingers. 

Kakashi was just about to speak when his hand throbbed, and then, he watched in horror as the digits moved on their own, the bone cracking and shifting beneath his skin, resetting itself. Swollen veins stood out stark against his paper white skin, pulsing almost violently before turning from the normal greenish blue to pitch black.

Iruka took Kakashi’s hand in his own, caressing it gently as he said, “this is all my fault. Please don’t hate me.” 

It was such a strange thing for Iruka to say, and Kakashi could only sit there, sweating profusely despite how cold he felt, and listen to the rush of words falling from Iruka’s lips as he continued to apologise, though for what, Kakashi wasn’t sure. 

"Why would I hate you?” Kakashi asked, gritting his teeth together through the pain and feverish chills. He looked up at Iruka and watched emotions flicker across his face, cycling between fear and disgust before finally settling on sadness.

“Because this is all my fault.” 

“What... I don’t understand?” The pain came again, this time in a wave that took Kakashi’s breath away. 

“Here, swallow this. It’ll ease the pain.” Iruka held a small cup to Kakashi’s lips, and coaxed him to swallow all of the bitter-tasting liquid. It was vile tasting, but Kakashi could feel it working already, taking the knife-edge off the pain just enough that he could think a little clearer.

“I know you’ve been worried about me, but I… every time I tried to talk to you, I froze up. You know I love you right?”

Kakashi felt his stomach drop at that, the fears that had driven him in to following Iruka here resurfacing. “Just tell me, please.”

“It was me. I attacked you. I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you, and I just saw the blade and thought—”

The rest of Iruka’s frantic babbling didn’t register, Kakashi having tuned out the words, only one thought repeating on loop in his mind.

_Iruka was the wolf._

It should have terrified him, but instead Kakashi felt a strange sense of peace wash over him. Iruka wasn’t having an affair, he loved Kakashi, and in that moment that was all he cared about. “I don’t care,” he said, cupping Iruka’s face and tucking a strand of loose hair behind his ear. 

It was the truth; he didn’t care. Iruka was still the same person he’d known all his life, still the same person he’d fallen in love with, no matter what shape he took. 

Iruka looked at him in utter disbelief, eyes brimming with unshed tears as he dipped his head, letting out a choked noise. “You might not feel the same after tonight. My bite... you’re changing.”

“I love you, nothing could change that,” Kakashi assured, his voice steely with conviction. He meant it, even though he was terrified about what was happening to him, scared with how out of control everything felt, like he was behind the wheel but someone else was driving.

The pain started to return, this time worse than before. He fell backwards onto the mattress, writhing between sweat-soaked sheets, clutching his chest and crying out. Iruka was talking to him, but Kakashi couldn’t hear a single word through the ringing in his ears and the way that it felt like his blood was lava, burning him up from the inside. Suddenly his skin felt too tight, like he was greater than the body trying to contain him. 

“Don’t fight the shift, Kakashi. I know it hurts, but I’m here. I’ve got you.”

There was a presence lurking beneath Kakashi's skin— another part of him that he did not yet know, but it was fierce and wild and desperate to break free. Joints popped and bones cracked, lengthening, his entire being morphing into something else. Skin split open like wet paper as his body shifted much too rapidly, the stringy flesh knitting back together, only to tear again moments later in a bloody cycle that repeated over and over and over, until, he looked up at the darkness and golden eyes staring back at him, and finally, let go, letting the beast inside take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Massive thanks to [Alex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thechaoscryptid/pseuds/thechaoscryptid) and [42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooleanWildcard/pseuds/BooleanWildcard) for the beta ♡
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! ♡ I appreciate _every_ single kudos and comment. Let me know your thoughts below! I encourage all comments, even if it's short, keyboard smashing/flailing, or emojis.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, maybe you'd like to check out my [other horror fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25041583) where Iruka is an old Eldtritch God.
> 
> Find me on Discord (MagnusTesla#8289) or [Tumblr.](https://magnustesla.tumblr.com/)


	2. Fanart by home-field12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sweet friend Hex commissioned fanart by home-field12 for this fic!
> 
> CW: injury; blood

From the scene where Kakashi opens the cabin door, brandishing a knife, only for Iruka to attack him and start tearing at his hand!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please make sure to check out [home-field12 on Tumblr](https://home-field12.tumblr.com/) and also [Hex here on AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexadecimalrebooted/pseuds/Hexadecimalrebooted)
> 
> If you enjoy this fanart, please leave some comments for the artist!
> 
> Find me on Discord (MagnusTesla#8289) or [Tumblr.](https://magnustesla.tumblr.com/)


End file.
